Mantra

Had dinner at Mantra for the first time last night. Great food and even better service. Our waitress was fabulous and the manager is really hospitable.
Would recommend Mantra for Happy Hour or a nice dinner.
We had the sea bass on a channa masala bed. Sea bass was salty, but I really liked it.
Also ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala. Sooooo good! The chicken was cooked perfectly! The masala had a nice spice to it. Delish!

I’m sad that this place is closed. I had come here almost every week for the past two and a half years because their lunch box ($ 6 then later $ 7) was a great deal. :(
Sure, it wasn’t the most rigidly traditional Indian food to ever grace Silicon Valley. Sure, sometimes a dish or two in the buffet was less than stellar. but on average this was a fantastic lunch spot for Downtown Palo Alto, and shockingly affordable relative to its competitors.

Food: 4
Décor: 4
Service: 3
Met up with a friend here for happy hour.
1. Chana Chat Poppers, 5
~Really good. Outside was flaky and crunchy, and the inside was nice and cool. Good contrast and flavor.
2. Home style Chicken Curry, 9
~Pretty good. Lots of chicken and a bit spicy, although there was something I bit in that was bitter and inedible.
3. Spicy Jack Cheese Naan, 4
~Pretty good. Went well with the curry.
Service could have been better. The menus weren’t clean and crisp, I didn’t get my water refilled towards the end, and it took too long to get our checks.
Total was only about $ 13 pp. Definitely would visit again, assuming I can find parking.

This place has the worst soup I have ever had in my life. But on the other hand the amazing Lamb Lollipops showed me that I can like — even love — lamb. Mantra is a mixed bag. A mixed bag of slightly overpriced Indian food.
So, the Carrot Ginger Soup. Would you believe this appeared as a must-​order in one of the three Unilocal Review Highlights? Other people raved about it as well. I’m guessing something went wrong that day because it just tasted of cream. Like they forgot the carrot and ginger altogether. At the time I thought maybe the flavors were subtle and I couldn’t taste them because I had just eaten something spicy, but now I can report after eating the leftover soup with a clean palate, that no — it still tastes like pure cream. Next time I want that many calories just hook me up with an IV of this soup so I don’t have to taste it.
Other than the soup, the beginning of our meal started well. The Non-​Vegetarian Sampler would have earned this place five stars on its own. The Lamb Lollipops were killer — the ground lamb is served on cinnamon sticks and the meat is infused with cinnamon. I loved this and I don’t even like lamb! The flavorful Chicken Malai was my second favorite thing I tried that night. I’ve had this dish at a lot of places and this might be the best. The third item on the sampler, the spicy Salmon Tikka, was outshone by the others but very good too.
I also noshed on the Naan with Spicy Jack Cheese. Finally someone paired naan with cheese! Not traditional in the slightest but Oh! So! Good!
We also had the wallet-​busting Sea Bass. Sea Bass is worth the $ 25 at The House in San Francisco, but not here. The fish was actually the second least favorite thing I tried. It was a good size portion but nothing to write home about. The best things about the dish were the cauliflower purée and the roasted carrots.
We bought a coupon on
for this place — $ 10 for $ 25 worth of food. Even with the coupon it’s a bit overpriced but can be worth coming back if you order right.

I was back at Mantra recently to enjoy the recently-​reinstated 50% off happy hour. This is a steal of a deal in the area with great food options and stiff drinks.
I noticed the menu has been revamped, which was both interesting and slightly disappointing, since some of my favorites are no longer around.
This time, we ordered:
— Vegetarian samosas: Three pieces per order. Really tiny size!
— Spreads, Dip, and Naan: Good selection of chickpea hummus, eggplant bharta, and curry dipping sauce. Four pieces of naan served initially, but we ordered an extra basket since a lot of spreads/​dips were remaining.
While the taste and flavor of the food was great, and priced well during happy hour, I’m not sure I’d pay those prices to dine here for the regular menu since it’s pricier than average for the quantity of food.
I ordered the Mumbai Margarita to accompany our snacks. They definitely didn’t short the alcohol — it was definitely a successful masti hour!

Lunch for five at Mantra. To start out, there was a promotion that brought us here… pay for four buttet seats, get one free. Very nice.
Okay Indian cuisine… a little more spicy than we were used to; but ingredients, especially salads, were fresh and varied.
But, it’s closed.

Disclaimer: Indian restaurants are on my least favorite list. But a dinner there this past Saturday may have changed that! I would never have thought I would become a fan of an Indian restaurant! Why I like it?
1. The ambiance was very nice and modern, unlike the traditional Indian restaurant that also smells like curry house. It was perfect for me and my girl friends to go there for a girl friends night out to celebrate one of the girl’s birthday.
2. I called Sat. afternoon for a dinner reservation for 6:30 pm. We were running late due to traffice so did not get there till around 7:40 pm. We did not call them back till around 7 pm to inform we were late. But when we finally arrived they had a table reserved for us and seated us right away! It wasn’t very busy at that time anyway, but it was still nice that they were pretty good about it.
3. Now onto the most important part: the food. The main reason I like their foods is they are not too spicy for me. I cannot handle too spicy foods and the degree of spiciness in the curry dishes that we ordered was perfect! We ordered the seafood curry with coconut milk, the chicken tikka marsala, grilled scallops with cauliflower purée and a vegetarian curry dish. Granted all the three curry dishes looked about the same as they all have same reddish curry and big chucks of either chicken or seafood, we still enjoyed all of them as they were very flavorful and cooked perfectly. The only thing is we wish there was more sauce in the chicken tikka marsala to dip our naans in.
We ordered the garlic naan and the rosemary pesto parmesan nann and they were both great.
The service was prompt and good too. My friend said she came here with her hubby for the after-​work happy hour sometimes as the appetizers are half priced and that was a very good deal as they both do not eat a lot. We three girls were all full but still have some left over to pack home with so it was a pretty good deal! We paid about $ 72 including tip and we did not drink anything or got dessert there. That was good in my book. Nothing beats good foods that are reaonably priced and everybody was happy after the meal! I’d definitely go back!

Came here with BF and used our dining coupon for dinner.
I’m giving it 2 stars for the ambiance and nice décor.
The food was just okay. I think I have had better Indian food that is way cheaper and better tasting/​quality in Fremont and San Francisco.

One star down only because they gave us the wrong food, instead of non-​vegetarian, we got veggie appetizer. They fixed it, and the kebabs was ok (for the ckn), the lamb was hecka good. It was on a cinnamon stick! The salmon was crispy and yummy. I also ordered the spread, dips, and hummus with naan. o man.the curry and eggplant was realllly good. I suggest you NOT to order this because you’ll get full so quickly.
They do have happy hours for a variety of small plates, wine, beer, etc for 50% off, but I came for dinner.
For entrée I had the seabass with roasted cauliflower purree. a bit on the creamy and too buttery side for the purreeeeeeee. gah…but the seabass was cooked in a tandoori oven so it was pretty good. i mean in general the fish is fatty. the other plate was ckn tikki masala. omg it’s goood… you have to have it with naan. see why I said don’t get the other naan appetizer? you’ll need naan to eat with this. it was amazingly good…
the indian beer was good too. and the place is nice n lively as it turns into a lounge at night…
overall not a bad experience, could of came to pour me more water. but the food was good, so i can’t complain.

Made reservations for a Friday night dinner with friends. Parking sucks around here. Either park at University Ave’s parking lot (if you are lucky) or spend half hour looking around the block for street parking :)
The resto is spacious, quiet and decent looking. Service, food and quality was good. We ordered the vegetarian and meat platter for appetizer. I liked the veggie platter — quinoa patty, tofu tikka, pani puri. Meat platter — salmon tikka, chicken kebab, lamb lollipop.
Drinks were good. The host suggested good karma martini. Citrusy and not too sweet. I liked it.
For the main course ordered chicken tikka masala, quinoa kofta curry, garlic naan and veggie briyani. Everything tasted good and we ordered the regular portions so it was more than enough for 3 people.
Got the gulab jamuns for dessert. Great and very sweet. The menu listed organic items being used and has vegan options as well. Good place to dine.

Overall, it was your typical nice Palo Alto restaurant with great atmosphere and a well-​trained wait staff. All of their food is great if you want Indian-​American cuisine. I, however, am more of a fan of authentic Indian food (with all the spices and the mush) so I may only drop by Mantra for HH type events from now on.
Here is what I had when I visited:
Napa Valley cab: pretty decent and solid.
Mussels: nice flavor but the spices overwhelm the flavor of the mussels somewhat. Still like it though.
Lamb seekh kebab: spicy in flavorful way, sauce excellent.
Chicken tikka masala: too sweet, bt if you want Americanized Indian food, then come here!
Saag paneer: no spices… Not very indian… I wasn’t a fan.
Butter naan: ok… Nothing special, maybe less than special.

Don’t come here expecting good service. I came here for happy hour with my mom because I had a Groupon and forgot you can’t combine groupons with other discounts. I asked our server if we could eat the happy hour items at the bar and pay, then be seated at a table to apply the groupon for regular priced items. She came back after talking to the owner and said no… too bad she already entered our order for happy hour or else we would have just sat at a table to use the groupon.
Service was slow. and I mean slow. for us at least. There were two servers at 6 PM and it wasn’t too busy but the waitresses were definitely busting their tooshes. I watched as the owner chatted up his friends at the bar and brought out only their food. never acknowledging other patrons HIS restaurant. We waited at least 20 minutes to place our happy hour order btw.
Food was forgettable. Tandoori chicken wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t authentic. The fried greens were pretty good but the second time we visited (to use the groupon) they weren’t good. Wheres the consistency?
We ordered the bass the second time and it was delicious. Very moist but the chickpeas it was laid on didn’t compliment it. We also ordered a lamb chop dish which was good. The lamb chops were moist but honestly, we make them better at home. My mom ordered the carrot and ginger soup which was pretty good but really heavy. I dont remember what else we ordered but before the groupon was applied our total was $ 95 and we were full. barely.
Definitely a good experience but we won’t be experiencing it again soon.

Review for lunch buffet takeout only…
It used to be the best lunch deal in downtown Palo Alto: you go to the buffet and fill up a takeout box, and it was $ 6, plus $ 1 extra for naan. As long as you were smart with loading up your box, you could end up with a ridiculous amount of Indian food for only $ 7 total (no tax).
They recently remodeled the restaurant and changed the buffet set-​up, and along with it they raised the price of lunch. Sit-​down buffet is now $ 10.95. Takeout lunch is $ 6.95 + $ 2 for naan, so close to $ 10 total with tax. That said, they did add a couple more items to the buffet (including some nice fresh green beans when I went today), and it’s still almost enough food to feed two people for just under $ 10… so even though I’m cheap, it’s still a good deal for good food.

This place has become more popular since we last came as I last remember having a quiet and intimate dining experience, but on a Friday, it was pretty busy and vibrant both at the bar and the dining area. We noticed that the menu had a wider selection of food at lower prices. They had a bunch of starters that range from $ 3 – 9. Last time we came, the entrees ranged from $ 20 – 25, but now they were mostly $ 10 – 18 in either small or large sizes that I even saw family with children dining here. WIth the changes, we were anxious to order and eat.
Luckily, we made OpenTable reservations that we got a nice corner booth seat. I ordered the Good Karma Cocktail to start with, but after 20 minutes I got impatient and flagged our server thinking he had forgotten my drink, but then he brought it out. 20 minutes for a cocktail is unacceptable IMO. I was a little irritated and then concerned that our food would take forever too. It sure did.
Our starters came out 25 minutes after we ordered. We had the Sesame Crisps (sesame fried wonton chips with marinara sauce) and Lamb Samosa. Don’t get the Sesame Crisps! It’s disappointing! Lamb Samosas were pretty good though.
For dinner, we had the large Chicken Tikka, small Seafood Curry, naan, and rice. We ordered just the right amount of food for 2 people. The Chicken Tikka was flavorful. Came garnished with beets, which I’m not a fan of, but with the chicken, it was good. Even though it was a large size, it seemed like a small portion since it was a perfect size for 2 people. The curry was flavorful, but it wasn’t full of seafood. It was a good meal, but I wasn’t too thrilled after the slow service, poor sizing of plates, and lack of seafood in the curry. I think this place has gone downhill since the last time we came. Luckily, we had a $ 25
gift certificate to kill. Not sure if we’ll be back as I think this place has become a PF Chang’s of Indian food if you know what I mean.

The sweet potato and swiss chard side dish is super delicious.
I could eat their naan all day
THANK YOU FOR HAVING LOTS OF MOCKTAILS!
I LOVED my rosewater mojito :-D
the server was very helpful and friendly.
need to come back to try the entrees

A few years had passed since my first visit to Mantra. A restaurant at this price range averaging only a 3.5 stars rating on Unilocal usually does not result in a repeat visit. However, the fond memory of their lamb chop and a $ 25 for $ 50 Groupon convinced me to give Mantra another try.
Their Lamb Chops ‘Vinhaleaux’ is still excellent. Perhaps even better than I remembered. I have no complaints on the texture of the meat. It was consistently tender and juicy in every possible ways. Some might find the taste of their lamb chop a bit strong but I think this slight hint of gaminess is very appropriate. The fragrance of the lamb is enhanced but not masked by the spices and seasonings. If you like lamb chop you won’t be disappointed. Their lamb chop is one of the better ones in this price range.
The Rajasthani Duck, unfortunately, wasn’t my favorite. I found the taste of this dish simply too ordinary. One could possibly use chicken in this recipe and it would not have made too much of a difference. The spices were strong and overshadowed the rich and complex flavor of the duck meat. This dish is still very tasty just not outstanding.
The Red Curry Scallops were a complete miss. The scallops were overcooked to a point they were chewy and rubbery. Very disappointing.
Dessert was rather uncreative. Ordered their Indian Cigars with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream which is essentially just fried bananas. Nothing even remotely Indian inspired.
If you want a typical or authentic Indian meal, Mantra is not the place to be. Their ‘classic’ Indian dishes aren’t even their strongest selling point. It is really just a contemporary Californian restaurant with some Indian influence. Mantra is one of those restaurants that you really need to know what to order. There are excellent dishes on the menu but also a lot of misses.
Service could really be better. I understand Friday night is typically busiest time but having to wait over an hour between appetizers and entrees is still unacceptable.
Would I dine here again? Possibly but I will just stick to the lamb chop, avoid the weekend and only come here when they have specials going (like ¹⁄₃ off your bill).

This was my first time eating at an Indian Restaurant and I was impressed. Everything tasted so good and we had wonderful service.
Panroasted sablefish, Traditional chicken tikka masala, eggplant and potatoes, basmati rice and naan completed my meal for two. I thought I ordered way too much, but luckily the food was just enough and my boyfriend did most of the work.
The eggplant and potatoes were super tasty and had a spicy kick to it. The chicken tikka masala was on the sweet side, and goes great with naan because you can dip the naan in the sauce. The sablefish was meaty and perfectly cooked.

I frequent Mantra about once a week if not more for their happy hour food and cocktails. They recently changed their happy hour from ½ to ¹⁄₃ off everything at the bar, which is a bit of a bummer, but completely understandable as the bar area is slammed every day of the week and continues to do so after the happy hour price change.
Their Indian cuisine with Cali influence has never failed to satisfy me. A few of my faves include the Ginger Carrot soup, Chicken Tikka Masala, Rosemary Pesto Naan and the Seabass on curried lentils. Everything they serve is full of flavor, well cooked and light. The only times I leave here feeling nauseatingly stuffed is when my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I decide to order two desserts. Granted, my boyfriend helps with those, but after several appetizers and entrees, my actions here simply equal gluttony.
My drink of choice: Lychee martini. Strong, refreshing and goes well with all the meals.
I love the bartender John and the manager Torian. They are fun, friendly and make this place one of my favorite spots. See you this Sunday :)

My parents come here like its their job.
And apparently theres a creepy single guy who does too, because they come in for the amazing 50% happy hour almost everyday and wave an awkward hello to each other. That’s 50% off your ENTIRE bill from 4:30 — 6:30 drinks, food, entrees, and all!
This.
Is.
A.
MAZINGGG
I think I let loose a little too much when ordering, but that just means more for later! What I thought could be better was the naan (boo on burnt naan). What I thought was great was the Flying Horse beer (mmm foreign beer tastes so clean and crisp!), the rack of lamb, and the filet.
Plus, who can argue with Mantra when it is so conveniently located next to Fraiche. Froyo for dessert anyone?

As I shared with Connie C. at the wonderful Unilocal Elite event, I had picked up a gift certificate for Mantra several months back.
After the blast Mae and I had with Unilocal,I thought this weekend would be a perfect time to revisit the restaurant and finally use that certificate.
On a lazy Sunday night and with the help of Opentable to snag reservations, we arrived shortly before their evening jazz band began to perform.
We were seated along the same window seat we had when we had dined at Mantra once before and the atmosphere was definitely pleasant. Jazz music in the air, quiet conversations, and dim interior lighting highlighted by the waning sunlight from the windows. All in all, I expected a wonderful meal. Our selections:
Hamachi char — cooked hamachi on a bed of potato and apple salad. The salad provided a nice tart flavor to contrast with the fish. I did find the hamachi a tad overcooked. While the skin had a nice crunchy texture befitting char, the interior was dry and overdone.
Day Boat Scallops — an amazing appetizer of 3 large scallops sauteed in an Indian curry sauce with peas. Absolutely spectacular flavor and the one hint of Indian origin in the food we sampled.
Lamb Chops — like other Unilocal reviewers, we thought the lamb chops were fantastic. Succulent and flavorful, this dish was a home run and a steal at its price.
Kobe ribeye — I had eye’d the ribeye at the Unilocal event and knew it was my entrée. I ordered it medium rare and though it was slightly overdone, it was still tender and tasty. Overall good, but definitely not spectacular or stand out.
Incidentally, this is my 3^rd disappointing experience with Kobe beef and a major reason why I’m hesitant to order it at my favorite restaurant, Alexander’s.
Perhaps I have barbaric taste buds, but I expect the difference between kobe beef and regular beef to be as pronouced as the difference between o-​toro and regular tuna. Especially given the price differential kobe beef usually commands.
At the end of the meal, we perused the dessert selection but opted to go to Fraiche just next door.
Now for the critical part of the review and the reason for 3.5 stars instead of 4 or 5 stars. As hosts of our recent Unilocal Elite event, I hope the owner and manager take the time to read a few of these reviews and perhaps find some insight into the feedback.
1) While there are many excellent menu selections, I notice that there is an overwhelming # of choices, whether it be the appetizers (10), the classic Indian cuisine (7), the main plates (9) or even the bread (6). It all reminds me of a criticism that Gordon Ramsey often states on «Kitchen Nightmares»…focus your menu.
While choices are wonderful, know your strengths and pare down the excess. The availability of both classic Indian fare and Californian cuisine reveals a possible lack of direction and I was confused by what the true focus of this restaurant was.
I personally found the Californian cuisine with a touch of Indian flavor to be Mantra’s strongest dishes. Its what I believe catapulted Mantra onto Michael Bauer’s Top 100 restaurant list in 2007.
2) Work on the service and waiters. While the manager and owner are friendly, I agree with reviews that found dining room wait-​staff too serious and not very friendly. Obviously, many people have been caught off guard by the fine print on the specials, but remember, the customer is always right. If you treat the customer poorly, they won’t return and Unilocalers (who talk a lot) won’t recommend.
I myself was off-​put being suggested only the prix fixe menu with wine tasting (it felt a bit heavy handed) and the indifferent attitude I received when I ordered something else and when they messed up our drink order. Our waiter also seemed disappointed by our not ordering dessert (and saying we were going to Fraiche) and my using a gift certificate. Though I received a casual «thanks for dining with us» as we left, it didn’t feel heartfelt given the unsmiling demeanor throughout the meal. Of note, though I thanked our waiter for bringing our entrees, clearing our table, etc., he never acknowledged it. A higher end place like Mantra deserves higher end service.
3) Though we were one of a few patrons at the earlier hour, I found the wait for appetizers and for entrees to be long. The appetizers, in particular, took nearly half an hour, supposedly because of the hamachi char. Start us with the naan or the prepared appetizer. I worry what would happen with a packed dining room.
I wish Mantra well. They have a lovely dining space in downtown Palo Alto as well as some great entrees. With a restaurant scene as competitive as the Bay Area, they definitely have the ingredients to succeed and with tantalizing specials, nightly Jazz, Opentable promotions and Unilocal publicity, they clearly would like to.